1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bin for receiving pulverulent and similar slow-moving materials and more particularly to a bin of this type with a pneumatic agitator panel for agitating the material when the bin is to be emptied. The agitator is mounted to a bounding wall inside the bin and comprises a backing of sheet material and a covering of flexible material extending over one side of the backing and attached to the backing at the edges thereof. The covering faces the interior of the bin and is loose over a substantial part of the surface of said one side of the backing. A tube for the supply of pressurized air or other gas or gas mixture inbetween the backing and the covering is connected to the backing and opens at said one side thereof, said tube extending through the bounding wall to the outside of the bin. The agitator panel is attached to the bounding wall by securing means on the tube, engaging the bounding wall.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An agitator panel of the type referred is disclosed in the British Pat. No. 1 478 053. In this prior art panel the covering comprises a textile material permeable to the pressurized air or other gas or gas mixture which is supplied to the agitator from a pulsator so that the textile covering is oscillating in relation to the backing in the transverse direction thereof, the air at the same time being discharged through the textile covering into the bin to penetrate into the material received therein, the material being fluidized thereby so as to be discharged by flowing through a bottom outlet of the bin.
In practice, the prior art agitator panel is secured to the bounding wall of the bin by nuts engaging external threads of the tube, which are tightened against opposite sides of said wall. However, it has been found that after extended operation of the agitator panel the backing will break and the panel accordingly will be inoperative and useless for its intended purpose.
The invention is based on the observation that this failure of the agitator panel is due to the fact that the pulverulent material when fluidized by the pulsation effect, is brought to flow into a very tiny gap that may exist between the back side of the backing and the inside of the bounding wall, and will collect in this gap. The material thus collected will be compacted under the influence of the pulsating effect and thus will create a force between the backing of the agitator panel and the bounding wall of the bin, tending to successively increase the said gap, so that further amounts of material will be collected and compacted therein, which eventually leads to breakage of the backing.
The object of the invention is to eliminate the related failure of the agitator panel in a simple and inexpensive way.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention in part will be set forth in the description which follows and in part will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention.
To achieve the foregoing objects and in accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly described herein the invention provides in a bin with an agitator panel as referred to above, at least one clamp rail extending along at least part of an upper edge of the panel, and means securing the rail to the bounding wall of the bin with said rail abutting the agitator panel at the side thereof which is covered by the covering, to engage the agitator panel with said bounding wall.
Preferably one or more clamp rails abutting the agitator panel at the upper edge thereof, are secured to the bounding wall by screw connections.
The accompanying drawing which is incorporated in and constitutes a part of this specification, illustrates an embodiment of the invention and together with the description serves to explain the principles of the invention.